HOME (PG)
Released by 20th Century Fox/DreamWorks Animation
Review by Adam Mast
With light shades of WAR OF THE WORLDS, INDEPENDENCE DAY, and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THIRD KIND, the new Dreamworks animated feature HOME introduces us to a lovable but cowardly alien race called the Boovs. These octupus-like, color-changing beings reach for the beguiling nature of DESPICABLE ME’S Minions and the quirky wit of MADAGASCAR’S Penguins but sadly, the plot that drives HOME isn’t as engaging as either of those franchises.
In HOME, the human race is re-located so that the aforementioned Boovs can move in. Young Tip (voiced by Rihanna) has managed to hide out in the city and her sole goal is to be reunited with her mother (voiced by Jennifer Lopez). While forging for supplies, Tip comes face-to-face with an “eager-to-find-a-friend” Boov called Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons). Despite Tip’s animosity towards Oh’s kind, the two forge a bond and before long, these social outcasts realize that there’s nothing wrong with being a misfit. As Tip and Oh join forces on a very personal quest, danger arises as an alien race far more dangerous than the Boovs, closes in.
HOME is harmless enough. It’s not like it’s a bad movie. But quite honestly, the early goings of this picture are somewhat irritating and a bit dull, and what’s more, the E.T.-like bond between Tip and Oh lacks the emotional punch that elevated BIG HERO 6 above its familiar surroundings.
Happily though, HOME finishes strong as an attention starved Oh realizes that you can’t always run away from your problems. Sometimes, you have to face them head on. It’s a message we’ve seen countless times, but for whatever reason, little Oh’s revelation in the final act really worked me over as did a slightly predictable but undeniably endearing twist regarding a potential worldwide threat.
Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper of THE BIG BANG THEORY fame) injects Oh with a childlike innocence that, thankfully, trumps his near sociopathic behavior. Rihanna gives Tip a sweet and tenacious youthful spirit but unfortunately she doesn’t sound like a child and that took me out of the movie a little bit. Steve Martin voices a wild and crazy (and ultra cowardly) Boov called Captain Smek, and while the veteran comic has energy to spare, I wish there was more of him throughout the picture. Jennifer Lopez lends her voice to Tip’s mother, but she has about as much screen time here as she did in JERSEY GIRL. It should be noted though that she does perform the film’s stirring but overused theme song.
HOME certainly has its colorful moments and no doubt, the little ones will be engaged, but as my film-going friend Shaun put it; “As a whole, this movie was nothing to write home about.” It’s a shame too because this sweet-natured animated feature did bring it home during a heartfelt final twenty minutes. If only the rest of the film had measured up.
